Common Shovelnose Ray

Glaucostegus typus

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Critically endangered

Usual depth0–6 m
Water temperature23–29 °C
Best monthsSeptember and November
How commonOccasional

About this species

The common shovelnose ray, giant shovelnose ray or giant guitarfish is a species of fish in the Rhinobatidae family found in the central Indo-Pacific, ranging from India to the East China Sea, Solomon Islands and northern Australia. It is found in shallow coastal areas to a depth of at least 100 m (330 ft), including mangrove, estuaries and reportedly also in freshwaters. It reaches up to 2.7 m (8.9 ft) in length, and is greyish-brown to yellowish-brown above with a paler snout.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Common shovelnose ray”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 87 records
February: 107 records
March: 142 records
April: 137 records
May: 172 records
June: 212 records
July: 218 records
August: 215 records
September: 540 records
October: 253 records
November: 470 records
December: 285 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–6 m · Deepest record: 167 m

0–10 m: 229 records
10–20 m: 2 records
20–30 m: 2 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 23–29 °C

22–24 °C: 120 records
24–26 °C: 711 records
26–28 °C: 11 records
28–30 °C: 5 records

Names and classification

English: Common Shovelnose Ray, Giant Guitarfish, Giant Shovelnose Ray

Names in 2 more languages

German: Riesengeigenrochen, Schnabelrochen
Thai: ปลาโรนันหัวใสยักษ์

Other scientific names: Rhinobatos armatus, Rhinobatos batillium, Rhinobatos batillum, Rhinobatos typus, Rhinobatus armatus, Rhinobatus batillum, Rhinobatus typus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
3,014 open-data records from 1881 to 2023.

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